MEGAMAN^® has employed amalgam technology in manufacturing its full series of compact fluorescent lamps since January 2008, making all its products FREE from liquid mercury. By adopting amalgam technology, MEGAMAN^® is able to minimise the environmental impact at different stages of the product life cycle. This protects not only workers during production and transportation, but also end-users during usage and disposal from exposure to liquid mercury.

Amalgam is an alloy of mercury combined with other metals. It is in a stable solid form under room temperature. It is an eco-friendlier and safer alternative to liquid mercury because mercury vapour does not release until it reaches around 100°C under atmospheric pressure.

At room temperature, the mercury inside the amalgam is concealed inside the metal alloy and would not escape even if the lamps break. Amalgam does not pose a health hazard to people or pollute the environment. The use of amalgam makes the lamps even easier and safer to handle on disposal. Moreover, it does not lead to land and water contamination even if the lamps are not properly recycled.

Technological advancements have enabled modern compact fluorescent lamps to deliver excellent illumination performance with amalgam at minimal mercury levels (less than 1.63mg). This is far less mercury than in other household items, e.g. batteries (5-25 mg) and, thermometers (500 mg), etc.

MEGAMAN^®compact fluorescent lamps on average contain less than 1.63mg mercury. This is far below the 5mg limit set by the EU environmental regulation. For example, a MEGAMAN^® GSU111i in 11 Watt contains only 1.3mg of mercury.

Moreover, research has revealed that compact fluorescent lamps actually work to minimise mercury from being released into the air by power plants, where it affects our health the most. According to statistics provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the highest source of mercury in our air comes from burning fossil fuels, such as coal. Seventy per cent of power plants are coal fired and burn fossil fuel to produce energy. These power plants in general emit 10mg of mercury to produce the electricity to run an incandescent bulb compared to only 2.4mg of mercury required to run a compact fluorescent lamp for the same time. In other words, compact fluorescent lamps are responsible for less mercury than incandescent bulbs.

In its solid form, the mercury inside amalgam can be collected, recycled and reused more readily. Since amalgam will not release mercury vapour when it is exposed under room temperature, it does not pose a health hazard to people or pollute the environment.

Mercury is considered a naturally occurring toxic element that poses health hazards to people and damages the environment. However, compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) require mercury vapour for efficient operation. Nowadays, technological advancement has allowed CFLs to deliver high quality illumination performance with amalgam, an eco-form of mercury. As liquid mercury poses potential danger in the event of lamp breakage, amalgam is gaining popularity for use in CFLs made by social responsible manufacturers.

Note: http://www.ec.gc.ca/MERCURY/SM/EN/sm-mcp.cfm?SELECT=SM

It’s safe! Even when a MEGAMAN^® compact fluorescent lamp breaks, there is NO health hazard or pollution problem posed to people or the environment as we use amalgam instead of liquid mercury during the manufacturing process.

When your MEGAMAN^® compact fluorescent lamp breaks, simply handle it as you would handle any broken glass.

Carefully sweep up the broken glass tube and scoop up all the fragments and powder. Keep it in a safe place to prevent injury caused by the broken glass.

All parts of the lamp, including the glass tube, the amalgam, the lamp housing and the lamp base, can be recycled. We recommend that these materials be sent to any collection centre for proper recycling.